The title of my blog describes me to a tee, I recently got back into my love for reading and wanted to share my thoughts. I started enjoying a glass of wine to help me relax and find time for myself by reading a good book.

Books and Wine

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Cover Reveal postings for 4/26 of The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron, A Force of Nature Fairytale Series by M.A. Horst, Virgin Nanny by SC Daiko and Devastate by Marley Valentine

Title: The Bad Guy

Author: Celia Aaron

Genre: Dark RomanceCover Design: PopKitty

Release Date: May 21, 2017

Blurb

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I’m the villain of this
story.

I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once
in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will
get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of
my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there.

Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek
forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company.
Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I
lost her.

She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But
every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all
down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he
wants. That’s me.

One man’s promise to another binds his future Flower grandchildren to the Royal Family.

One by one a Flower will be claimed by a Royal.

The Royal family is a force of nature to be reckoned with, but have they finally met their match?

The Royal men are domineering, brute and fierce until they lay eyes on a Flower woman. Then nothing can stop them from claiming what’s rightfully theirs.

Fire Royal is the only female Royal amongst a sea of formidable Royal men, but she won’t let this keep her down. This is one woman who will never bow before a man, until she meets Reed Flower – the last of the Flower family to be claimed.

Warning: Seven short, over the top, insta-love, hot as hell fairytales with a twist of kinkiness.

Each book in The Force of Nature series is standalone & about a different couple.

Poppy

Release Date: May 8, 2017

Storm, the eldest
son of a heartless businessman is forced to choose a bride. His father wants
grandchildren to secure the future of Royal Industries, and he wants them
now.

Forced to choose
from a specific list of women that’s been promised to the Royal family, Storm
holds a masked ball and invites the six women.

Poppy has lived a
sheltered life. She has been homeschooled by her overprotective mother.
Attending the masked ball is an exciting experience for her until she lands in
the arms of Storm Royal. Electricity crackles around them.

Poppy’s delicate new love is shattered when she finds out why Storm really
wants to marry her. She’s only a means to an end, another piece of property.

Can Storm win
Poppy’s trust while trying to keep his fiery desire for her under control?

Lily has been born into
wealth, and with that comes a certain responsibility. She has been promised to
Hail, who has just taken over Royal Industries along with his brothers and
cousins. The Royal family screams power and money and they’ll destroy anyone
who stands in their way of acquiring more.

Hail is more forceful and
unyielding than the preppy son of a greedy bastard Lily took him for.
Everything about him is dominant. When his eyes lock with hers sparks fly instantly.
Lily belongs to Hail and there’s nothing she can do but honor her grandfather’s
promise.

Just one look at Lily and
Hail is determined to own her in every way. He doesn’t want her obedience just
because she’s honoring a promise. He wants her obedience because she craves to
please him.

Rose is more thorns than
the flowery beauty people take her for. When she hears that she’s been promised
to Lake Royal, an arrogant bastard, she turns prickly.

Lake might be known as
the family player but he has a more serious side that comes out when he sets
his sights on something he really wants. Lake wants Rose with a burning
passion. He wants to own her and tame her. There’s nothing more Lake likes than
a good challenge.

Rose hates that Lake can
make her burn up with just a touch.

How long will Rose be
able to fight of the force of nature that’s Lake Royal?

River Royal is like a bloodhound, once
he gets the scent of a woman he wants, there’s no stopping him. He lives for
the thrill of hunting and conquering.

Jasmine Flower is determined to make it
on her own in the business world. She’s offered a job by River, and even though
all her senses are on high alert, she agrees. The money is amazing and it will
go a long way to helping her get on her own feet.

On her first day of work River informs
her that he’s laying claim to the promise her grandfather made to his. She’ll
be his in every way.

It might not be the job Jasmine applied
for, but she likes it, so why not?

It’s Cherry Flower’s first day at her first job. All she wants to do is make enough money so she can leave home which has become hell.

Everything changes when she literally falls into Tide Royal’s arms.

Tide is the most successful out of all his brothers and cousins. Everything he touches turns to gold. He’s never felt a burning passion for anything in his life … until Cherry. Tide rarely laughs and always keeps to himself. He wants nothing to do with the list of women promised to his family until he finds out that Cherry is the last woman left. It’s between him and his cousin Stone – who will get Cherry?

Tide can’t keep himself from feeling protective of Cherry. An overwhelming desire burns through his veins and he’ll stop at nothing to make Cherry his.

Young Reed Flower gets a job as a
security guard, working the nightshift at the reception counter of Royal
Industries. The powerful and sexy CEO,
Fire Royal, is beautiful and mysterious. She’s worked hard to earn herself the
nickname ‘The Ice Queen’ in order to keep gold-digging men at a distance.

Fire keeps playing with him - a game of
cat and mouse. She has no intention of ever being the mouse. Unable to resist
Reed’s dangerous good looks and inexperience, Fire admits she wants him and
employs him as her personal bodyguard. When she finds out just how innocent Reed
is, she wants to be his first. She wants to shape him into a lover that will
obey her every command.

Reed is shocked to find that he’ll do
anything to win Fire’s trust, but she’s a woman with dark secrets.

Will Reed give himself over to Fire and
explore the darker side of love or will this force of nature be the end of him?

It’s not like we’re gonna fall for her… not like she’s gonna fall for us either.

Just a bit of fun… nothing more, nothing less.

Until it isn’t…

I TURN OFF Kensington High Street up a side road, and soon I’m standing in front of their tall, narrow house, part of a terrace of similar properties. I walk up the steps and press the bell, my heart thumping.

The door swings open and standing there is an Adonis. His green eyes twinkle as he smiles, and there are actually dimples, dimples! at the corners of his mouth. He’s wearing tight black jeans, a white shirt, and a loose black jacket. I stare at him, and a stupid blush makes my cheeks hot.

“Eleri, I presume?” he asks in a deep voice.

“Please, it’s El air i. You stress the ‘air’ when pronouncing.” And I find myself blushing again.

He laughs, an infectious laugh, and I laugh with him to hide my embarrassment. “Gotta love Welsh names,” he says, showing me into the hallway. “And the cute accent. I’m Luke Addison, by the way. Just call me by my first name.”

If my cheeks were warm before, they’re burning up now. God, I’m such a dork. Just because a man says something nice to me shouldn’t make me go so red.

I follow him across the black-and-white tiled hallway, through an open door into a sitting room which looks like it should be in one of those glossy home decor magazines. There are plush white sofas set in an L-shape in front of the fireplace. White walls, red curtains and carpets, and a black coffee table.

A stern-looking man gets to his feet from where he’s been sitting on one of the sofas. He’s taller than Luke by a couple of inches, and just as good-looking.

Christ, Eleri, stop ogling. These guys are gay. End-of.

“I’m Gabe,” stern-looking man says in a gruff tone. His dark-blue eyes bore into mine and it’s as if they wanna gobble me up for dinner.

“Eleri,” I say in a shaky voice, holding out my hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He’s a viscount, an aristocrat, should I curtsey? Nah, I tell myself. Don’t be silly!

His grasp is firm and warm, but his eyes continue to eat mine; they’re incredibly deep, like the ocean, fringed with to-die-for thick black lashes. He’s wearing what look like designer blue-jeans, a crisp pale viola cotton shirt and a similar black jacket to Luke’s. “Take a seat, Eleri,” he indicates towards the sofa. “Tell us what made you decide to become a nanny.”

I perch on the edge of the couch facing the fireplace, and give my spiel about loving kids and enjoying the early childhood degree I studied at uni. Luke, sitting on the same sofa as me, his long legs stretched out in from of him, is listening intently.

“Why London?” he asks, straight to the point. “I mean, it must be quite a change from Wales.”

“I love the energy of this city,” I gush. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m Welsh through and through, only I wanted to try something different.” I keep to myself the fact that London wages are much higher than what I could earn back home. I don’t wanna come across as money-grabbing.

Gabe pushes himself to his feet, and I can’t help noticing how powerful his body is. “We’ve arranged for you to spend a couple of hours with Abi and the boys. We trust her opinion implicitly as far as our sons are concerned. She’ll report back to us after you’ve left, and we’ll email you when we’ve reached our decision.”

The agency already told me this would be part of my interview, so I’m not surprised. I have a lot of questions, and it will be easier to ask them of Abi.

She must have been waiting in the adjoining room as she appears almost as soon as Gabe goes to fetch her. Her smile is wide and welcoming, and I return the gesture. Within minutes, she’s taken me up to the boys’ rooms… a bedroom, bathroom and playroom on the fourth floor. “We can chat while they mess about with their toys,” she says in a northern accent. “Then I’ll show you my bed-sit at the top of the house.”

TWO HOURS LATER, I’m on my way back to Notting Hill. The boys were amazing, and I think they liked me. I loved Abi’s accommodation in the loft; the bedroom is twice the size of my present one and the adjoining bathroom luxurious. Even the cat was perfect; he’d sat on my lap, purring, and had let me stroke him while Abi answered all my questions, telling me about her circle of nanny friends… who can’t wait to meet me and arrange playdates with Matty and Jack. But when I asked about their surrogate mother, it was like a shutter had come down over her friendly expression. “Sharon is weird. I can’t quite put my finger on it, except to say there’s something not quite right about her. You judge for yourself, though. Maybe it’s just me.”

I agreed to reserve judgment. I couldn’t help a shiver pass up my spine, and there was a brief heaviness in the atmosphere that felt ominous… at least until Abi changed the subject and started telling me about Gabe and Luke.

“They’re lovely guys,” she said. “The bee’s knees.” Then she dropped a bombshell that left me open-mouthed. “Although they’re totally committed to each other, they swing both ways,” she’d giggled. “One night, I went downstairs to fetch something I’d left in the kitchen, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw there was a woman with them and they were kissing her… both of them.”

“Apparently. I’m only glad they didn’t see me as I wouldn’t have known what to say.”

I’d licked my dry lips, and she must have caught my startled look. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t happen that often, as far as I’m aware. After all, I’ve been with them three years and only saw the once. They’re really discreet about it.”

I’d laughed and cracked a joke about disturbing orgies, except now the thought of it is making me feel a hot and tingly sensation between my thighs. Gah!

SC Daiko is a romance junkie who loves writing about strong heroines and hot alpha males. Her stories are sexy and emotional reads. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Italy with her husband and two cats. Nothing makes her happier than connecting with readers and fellow authors.

Marley Valentine comes from the future. Living in Sydney, Australia with
her family, when she's not busy writing her own stories, she spends most of
her time immersed in the words of her favourite authors.

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